After sitting in Washington Dulles Airport for 4 hours, we learned that our South African Airlines flight to Johannesburg was cancelled. Instead we were beginning booked on the next flight -- tomorrow morning at 8am!?? Due to those mythical yet ever-present "mechanical issues." We wonder if those "mechanical issues" had anything to do with there only being 50 passengers on our international flight.
So, instead of Africa, we ended up at the Embassy Suites in Herndon, VA. South African Airlines put us up here along with dinner & breakfast. Now, here I sit in the front room of the suite where the first flat screen TV is -- the second being in the bedroom in front of the king size bed. Really?
Oh -- but we got to see our first wildlife of the trip:
Swans in a pond in the lobby.
Really?!
The silver lining of this delay is that I got to spend the evening with my great friends, Jen & Carmelo Landis-Santos, and their son, Pablo. (BTW, when did he get to be four?) It turns out that they live about twenty minutes or so from this this hotel. So after my free dinner, Jen came to pick me up and brought me back so I could see their new house -- which is very lovely! Pablo gave me the tour and then insisted that I play soccer with him in the living room.
After he went to bed, the rest of us had a great time talking and catching up. What an incredibly unexpected blessing for which I am most grateful.
The adventure continues bright & early tomorrow early with a cab ride at 5:45am to take us back to the airport for an 8am flight to Johannesburg.
Nice swans...beautiful family!
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